Knitting Monogamy

Not to be confused with knitting monotony, mind you.

Hey have you seen this... summer Interweave Knits preview! There are a couple of things I like the look of (Wedgewood Blouse, the men's Cambridge jacket, and the Bias corset, and the pea-pod baby set...) but it's hard to get the full gist of the designs in those little pictures.

How's the sunrise circle jacket coming? I want to knit one too, but is getting SO hot here already. A windy day blew in, so that helped cool things down in the morning... I was able to wear one of my favorite acrylic sweaters all day long. Remember my love for thrift-store acrylic sweaters when we met? You were aghast! Even though I wouldn't buy acrylic yarn-- I'll never part with my acrylic sweaters... They go in the washer and they practically come out dry! I could never be a fiber snob. Next fall, I want to knit a sunrise circle jacket for myself EXACTLY like the gal in the picture. Interweave Knits is about the closest thing I do to shopping these days.

This past weekend we (Dana and Big Dana, I should say) built a new chicken coop and I planted some seeds for the garden. We are a little behind on plowing/planting.

Chez Chicken

The highlight of my day today was finding out that the thriving metropolis that is Manning offers yoga classes! At a small-town price, too! 16 classes for fifty bucks-- that's even do-able on a student-nurse budget.

Regarding the alpaca given to me by my friends at Sea Ayre Suris-- I think I'm going to have it spun for me at Georgia Mountain Fiber. I just got Shayly the Suffolk's fleece back in rovings, and there is a TON of it-- I'm going to be busy busy busy making a mess out of spinning on it. I don't want to ruin that alpaca, and I really want to knit something out of the fleece for Ed and Vicki as thanks for letting me live vicariously through them and their alpaca operation. Last week, I visited during their annual shearing. I had lemonade with them on their screened porch with the most amazing view of their nearly-naked alpacas frolicking on a Carolina spring day. You know how bad I want their life. Care to join me?

Here's Shayly's fleece. That's 5.3 lbs of fleece for hand spinning! Care to give it a go? Here's directions on how to make a homemade spindle. I think I have enough to spare if you want to give it a shot. I'm sure there's plenty of people who could give you some instruction in your area, too...



Meet Luke.

Here's an action shot.

Now for some actual knitting content... I haven't touched another knitting project since March 26th... Complete knitting monogamy, not something I am very familiar with... But I'm taking a new approach to my knitting since the creation of Knitting Things Done. I'm almost finished with the Prairie Tunic from Spring IK. It was supposed to be completed for the wedding I went to last weekend, but nursing school interrupted by plans for my knitwear debut. It will be finished by LEAF so I'll get to wear it to a big party, never the less. Here she is...

I cannot wait to get up to the mountains for LEAF! If you can come to visit again, try to do it during the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair! I'm already picking out the classes I want to attend.

I wish your friend Andy a speedy recovery. How did you talk Jeff into wearing over-the-knee socks? Are they his? That is the first thing I am going to knit when the weather even hints at cooling off this fall.